Marshal: After the insanity and chaos of your flight through the grass, and seeing those horrible insects come crawling out of James and Howell, you're split off from your friends and led down a series of passageways and some stairs at the point of a shotgun. You're locked in a dim room that appears to be underground and left alone for about an hour. It's maddening, not knowing what's going on. After an interminable wait, there is a polite knock at your door, and a pleasant female voice with an English accent calls out, "May I enter and speak with you, sir? I'm sorry for this situation, but I assure you, I mean you no harm."

Gabriel: "Ha!" Gabriel let's out "Mighty kind of you to extend the courtesy of asking my permission. It's almost as though you didn't lock me in a dark cellar at gunpoint! Right hospitable of y'all" Gabe waits a moment, then sighs, too tired to play clever "Alright sure. Let's chat."

M: You hear a bolt sliding back, and a woman in white enters. Immediately, she strikes you as different. She carries herself regally, but not in any kind of put-on manner...she carries herself that way because she IS that way. Your practiced eye reflexively sizes her up as a potential mark, and you see right away that she is not someone to be toyed with. She is somehow both unremarkable in appearance and fiercely striking. In the doorway behind her is another woman dressed in white, somewhat meek in appearance and smiling sheepishly. The regal woman stands and regards you curiously for a moment, then speaks. "I am Sister Mary, and this is Sister Mercy. Who might you be, sir?"

G: Gabe stands and brushes himself off. "Gabriel Prior at your service. Or perhaps more accurately, at your disposal." Gabe takes off his hat and eyes the two women. "The woman I came here with and the rest of my companions. I assume they are in a similar predicament to my own?"

M: The woman in white smiles graciously. "Thank you for trusting us with your name, Mr. Prior. Your companions are safe, and yes, they are locked in their own rooms. This is for our own safety, Mr. Prior, as we have no idea who you are. You seem like capable and dangerous people... especially the woman. Do we have anything to fear from your companions, Mr. Prior? Did you come here with any intention to harm me or my sisters?"

G: "Capable and dangerous hmm? Makes us sound like a roving militia. Though I suppose you aren't exactly wrong." Gabe considers. "Well I can't quite speak for James or Howell, though they don't seem the type to harm women, but Rose and I assuredly did not come here to harm anyone"

M: She smiles again. "That is good to hear. Now I have one more question, if you'll allow me...how is it that someone with a connection to the divine is traveling with someone who consorts with demons?"

G: Gabe's accommodating air falls away. "I don't believe I know what it is you are talking about. On either matter."

M: Her calm expression does not waver. "I believe that you do, Mr. Prior, though I understand your reluctance to be forthright. This is a dangerous world, after all. But in the interest of being candid myself, I am blessed with an ability of my own. I can sense power in others, and more besides, and the golden cable connected to you is as clear to me as the swirling mass of darkness that surrounds your lady companion."

G: Gabe is unsettled, but he maintains composure. "Well I wish I shared your clarity of vision then sister. I've spent enough time with Rose that I think I would have noticed a swirling mass of darkness. Or a 'golden cable.' If only anything were that clear. "

M: She cocks an eyebrow at you, and casts a glance back over her shoulder at Sister Mercy, who shrugs. Sister Mary turns back to look at you, her face inscrutable. "May I show you something, Mr. Prior?"

G: Gabe rases his hands in front of him. "By all means. I am, ahem, at your mercy"

M: She politely acknowledges your jest, then walks toward you, extends her hand, and very lightly places her fingertips against your forehead. Your body and mind are immediately rocked with an almost electric energy. You feel something...radiant...coursing through you, and you know inherently that this is coming from within you, that you can bring this energy to bear. The dark recesses of your mind are all at once illuminated, and you are laid bare before your own consciousness. All of your flaws, all of your weakness, all of your mistakes and your self-delusions rise up...and you accept them. You forgive them. And all at once, your inner turmoil quiets. You had no idea how loud these angry, hurting, doubting thoughts were until they were silenced. And in their place, you feel certainty. You feel peace. And with it, a flow of power. You are a light in the darkness, you are the sun burning off dark clouds, you are--- As suddenly as it came, this feeling leaves you, and you find yourself lying on the floor, shaking, with Sister Mary kneeling over you, a concerned look on her face. And you feel as you always have, though more tired and somehow empty, but you also feel different. Like you've put on your favorite shirt only to find that it no longer fits the way it did just yesterday, chafing at you. "Are you all right, Mr. Prior?"

G: He pushes himself up halfway off the ground. Instincts kick in, "compose yourself!" They tell him. "Take control of the situation! This is some sort of a trick!" But he can't make himself believe it. Somehow he knows that all of this is true. Gabe looks up at Sister Mary "Am... Am I alright?" He shakes his head. "No. No I don't think so." Finally, against everything he's learned, Gabe lets himself give in. "Can you help me?"

M: She nods. "I can, Gabriel. Though it will not be easy. I was able to fully open your connection to your abilities, but only briefly. That is what you are capable of achieving, Mr. Prior. But there are several obstacles in your path. With a few days of meditation and instruction, I may be able to help you start your journey. But I will need to keep you sequestered during that time. It is what I have done for all of my sisters." At that she looks back at Sister Mercy, saying "Sister Mercy, you may leave us. I do not believe Mr. Prior will feel the need to dissemble any longer. Perhaps see what aid you can provide to Sister Righteous in feeding our guests." Sister Mercy nods, smiles at you, and leaves. Sister Mary rises. "Those insects outside will be active until the next cold snap, which we believe should come in four days time. So for now, you must all remain in this house. I will see to it that your companions are safe and attended to, I give you my word. But only as long as they behave themselves and do not attempt to harm any of my sisters. Can you tell me their names, and a bit about them, so that I may set their minds at ease and expedite the building of trust?"

G: Gabe gets to his feet. "I'll tell you what I can, though... and this may be the strangest thing I have ever said, I doubt they will be as trusting as I." Gabe pauses. "Four days... We can handle that." He considers for a moment "Though Rose is NOT going to be pleased..."

M: You tell her what she asks, and she spends the next several days instructing you on opening up whatever this connection is you have to whatever it is that you're connected to. Sister Mary is always pleasant, but she is also hard and insistent. She teaches you how to calm your mind, and though it is not easy for you, you can feel yourself getting better at it, bit by bit. She tells you that she sees that the golden cord was strangled, but now it is beginning to open, just a bit. She also tells you of the obstacles in your path, but that's another story...you talk some, but mostly she leaves you to your practice. And slowly, you begin to learn that there are a few interesting things you can do, if you ask nicely... When the time comes, you rejoin the rest and head back to Denver. You feel mostly the same. Mostly.